On August 28, 2017, six transgender individuals currently serving in the United States military filed a complaint in the United States District Court in Maryland. The plaintiffs sued the President of the United States and various Department of Defense secretaries, arguing that they had violated the ...
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On August 28, 2017, six transgender individuals currently serving in the United States military filed a complaint in the United States District Court in Maryland. The plaintiffs sued the President of the United States and various Department of Defense secretaries, arguing that they had violated the plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment rights. In an amended complaint, the plaintiffs also brought a cause of action under 10 U.S.C § 1074 which entitles military members to medical care benefits. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Maryland and private counsels, sought declaratory judgments stating the Transgender Service Member Ban violated the Equal Protection clause and the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment by denying their ability to serve and denying them access to medical treatments previously provided by their military employment. They also sought an order to permanently enjoin the defendants from enforcing the Transgender Service Member Ban, in addition to attorney’s fees.

The plaintiffs comprised a group of transgender individuals that, under the Open Service Directive, publicly revealed their transgender status and were receiving medically necessary treatments related to their gender transition. The complaint alleged that President Trump’s memorandum entitled “Military Service by Transgender Individuals” set aside the Open Service Directive and replaced it with a policy that contained animus for transgender individuals. The complaint singled out the policy directives that rescinded protection against discharge of existing service members, banned new enlistments and commission, and banned medically necessary care. The plaintiffs claimed these directives directly violate their Fifth Amendment rights and discriminated against each of the plaintiffs and other service members who identified as transgender on the basis of sex.

On September 14, 2017, the plaintiffs filed for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the defendants from enforcing President Trump’s memorandum until final judgment was given on the case. On November 21, 2017, Judge Garbis granted the preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Equal Protection claims against the three policy directives and the claims under due process were sufficiently plausible to withstand dismissal. Judge Garbis also dismissed the plaintiffs' cause of action under 10 U.S.C § 1074 without prejudice. 280 F.Supp.3d 747.

The defendants filed an appeal against the preliminary injunction on December 6, 2017 to the Fourth Circuit and later filed a motion for clarification and stay in the appeals court and the district court. The motions for clarification and stay were denied in both courts. Following, the defendants filed a voluntary dismissal motion for their appeal of the preliminary injunction on December 29, 2017 and the court approved soon after.

Back in district court, the defendants filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings and motion to partially dissolve the preliminary injunction on March 1, 2018. The plaintiffs then filed a second amended complaint and removed the 10 U.S.C § 1074 claim on April 27.

On May 11, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, and motion for summary judgment. On May 25, 2018, the plaintiffs filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.

On March 1, 2019, the defendants told the court that they would shortly file a petition for a writ of mandamus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The writ of mandamus would request the appellate court to direct the district court to stay its nationwide preliminary injunction of November 21, 2017 because the Supreme Court stayed two nationwide injunctions in two similar cases on January 22, 2019.